As prizes go, the AFC West title for the Broncos is like a stocking stuffer for a 16-year-old who just got his driver's license.

It's nice. But what else you got?

Thanks to a strong second half against Tampa Bay, the Broncos were able to put together a long list of accomplishments and realistic future goals Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

First, the Broncos' convincing 31-23 victory clinched their second consecutive division title. Afterward, there was no champagne popping in the locker room. This ain't baseball. There weren't even three cheers for the AFC West.

"No, just that we did acknowledge it because it was one of our goals," Broncos coach John Fox said. "It's just a starting point for us, really."

Print 'em, Broncos.

Winning the division guarantees the Broncos will play at least one AFC playoff game at home. Playoff tickets can be ordered. The date is TBA because there remains the question of whether that home game is played in the first week of the playoffs, or the second week.

But if winning the West was all the Broncos achieve this season, it would be a disappointment. This is a team that not only has Peyton Manning on one side, it has a defense seemingly capable of stopping Peyton Manning on the other.

Come to think of it, how does Denver's D match up against Manning in practice?

"We've frustrated him," Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. "But then again, he doesn't prepare for us. He prepares for who we're playing. Now if he prepared for us, I think it would be a different story."

In Manning's first 13 playing seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, did he ever have a defense like the one he has in Denver?

"It's really hard to compare," Manning said. "That's a lot of years, a lot of teams. But our defense has been steady. That's a good offense over there, too, today. I mean, Josh Freeman is a good quarterback, and they have some playmakers over there."

Manning did his part to solidify his candidacy for a record fifth NFL MVP award by throwing three touchdown passes — one to defensive tackle Mitch Unrein, who lined up as a fullback, and two to Demaryius Thomas. Manning also completed, with remarkable accuracy, a pass to Knowshon Moreno on the ground on his rump for a first down.

There's more. Manning drew an on-field compliment from opposing coach Greg Schiano after he first drew a 12-men-on-the-field penalty with a quick snap, and the quarterback also exhorted the sellout home crowd to stop doing the "wave" so he could operate his no-huddle offense.

"But I appreciate the spirit," Manning said.

Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns in the Broncos' 31-23 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday. And Denver clinched the AFC West title. More photos. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Still, it's not just Manning. It's also Denver's defense that has provided the Broncos with a chance to get a first-round bye in the playoffs, which would boost their chances of playing in the AFC championship, which would increase their odds of reaching the Super Bowl, which would put them in position to ...

"We're just the AFC West champs right now," Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil said.

First things first. Once again, the Broncos' defense made a pretty good quarterback look below average. Denver's defense had thoroughly frustrated New Orleans' Drew Brees and Cincinnati's Andy Dalton this season. It made San Diego's Philip Rivers look awful. It made Carolina's megatalented Cam Newton look overmatched.

And it just made one of the league's hottest quarterbacks, Tampa Bay's Freeman, look Rivers-like, at least for three quarters, at which point he was 11-of-26 for 142 yards.

"It's all about the guys up front," Bailey said. "That's the biggest difference with this defense compared to other years here. When you can stop the run and get pressure? Anything can happen."

Anything, like perhaps Broncos star linebacker Von Miller winning the NFL defensive player of the year award. His candidacy got a lift when he intercepted a Freeman pass in the third quarter and returned it for a touchdown.

With the Broncos clinching the division title, their next goal is the No. 2 playoff seed, which would give them a first-week bye and home-field advantage in Round 2. The Houston Texans seem to have the No. 1 seed put away, but the Broncos at 9-3 are tied for the AFC's second-best record with New England and Baltimore.

The Broncos play the 3-9 Oakland Raiders in the Black Hole on Thursday night. New England plays 11-1 Houston and 8-3-1 San Francisco in the next two weeks.

And the Broncos can personally take care of the Baltimore Ravens when the two teams meet in Baltimore in two weeks.

The No. 2 seed, though, is for tomorrow. Sunday was for winning the AFC West.

"I believe you have to have goals, and you have to start somewhere and you build from there," Manning said.

Unlike in their past four victories, when the offense seemed to be a bit off at times, Manning's group found some rhythm during the game's opening drive, and in the third quarter

An incredibly accurate pass from Manning to Thomas put the Broncos up 14-10 in the third quarter. On the play, Thomas had just broken free by a half yard against defender Leonard Johnson, turned, and the pass from Manning was in the crick of his right elbow.

"I'm just going to tell you I threw that as early as you could throw a pass," Manning said. "An old coach would have called that an anticipatory throw. I'm not sure that's a word or not. But I threw that ball super early."

On their next possession, Manning completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Thomas that split double-team coverage from a linebacker and safety. The three touchdown passes gave Manning a team-record 29 on the season, breaking the previous mark of 27 set by John Elway in 1997 and Jake Plummer in 2004.

Another game, another record for Manning. He gets one seemingly every week. He and his teammates, though, want so much more.

OffenseAs John Fox routinely says, it's a results-oriented business. While the Broncos looked sluggish at times in dealing with Tampa Bay's defensive front, they scratched out 91 yards rushing against the league's No. 1 run defense — and Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes.

DefenseIt got sloppy late when the game was in hand, but overall it was a quality effort as Josh Freeman had 95 of his 242 passing yards in the final 7:36 of the game with the Broncos holding leads of 18, 15 and nine points.

Special teamsThey broke Trindon Holliday loose in the return game, and punter Britton Colquitt put three punts inside the Buccaneers' 20-yard line. Matt Prater booted a 47-yard field-goal attempt wide right for his third miss in the past two games.

Coaching

The staff made the in-game decisions it needed to in order to clinch the team's second consecutive AFC West title.

Game Balls

LB Von Miller — Returned his first career interception for a touchdown and added another sack to his 2012 résumé.

CB Champ Bailey — Bucs WR Vincent Jackson didn't have his first catch against Bailey in man coverage until there were two minutes left in the third quarter.

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